Industry gives thumbs up to latest ENSE conference

Attendees have lined up to praise the most recent conference for buying consortium ENSE, which was held at the Beaumont Estate, Windsor, on 16-17 September.

Participation has grown once again, with over 160 representatives attending, compared to the 130 at last autumn’s event. The increase was split evenly between suppliers and distributors.

The format saw distributors and suppliers taking part in 10 minute meetings during the table rotations mainstay of the agenda, which followed a dealer business meeting on the morning of the first day.

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One attendee, Manitowoc’s vice president of sales for northern Europe, Peter Hunkemoeller, commented: “As a relatively new ENSE member, the conference allows us to touch base with all ENSE dealers during an informative 2 days. We get to meet people we may not usually talk to and discuss strategy with them.”

Another manufacturer, MCS Technical Products, was also pleased with the event. MD Steve Snow told Catering Insight: “All ENSE distributors are present at the meetings. Those 10 minutes can determine whether there’s a reason to send one of our salespeople to meet up with a dealer.

“We are very enthusiastic about ENSE and the quality of its distributors. We have had substantial growth with ENSE this year."

The distributor side of the equation was happy about the conference too, with Court Catering Equipment’s MD, Nick Howe, saying: “This is a highly professionally-organised event that at the same time feels relaxed. We have picked up new ideas from a number of different suppliers. We already use 30 ENSE suppliers and hope to engage with them all by the end of next year.”

At the gala dinner on the first night of the event, ENSE’s MD Bob Adams revealed that ENSE turnover for the year to date have grown by more than 65%. “You can feel the buzz at the conference – everybody is positive,” he commented.

“These events help to build business relationships in a dynamic, collaborative way. It’s an opportunity for distributors and suppliers to sit down and talk, away from the pressures of their daily business.”